I Hear the Ocean
by SS-Spirit
Summary: Takes place in RF, in the middle of the plot. Nicholas and Cecilia have an adventure together! Part of a contest entry with "Blind" as the theme. Bonus points if you get the disney reference in the first chapter.
1. A Really Cool Place

I Hear the Ocean

_Details: Takes place in RF, in the middle of the plot. Nicholas and Cecilia have an adventure together! Part of a contest entry with "Blind" as the theme. Will have another chapter. _

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It was hot outside; bright sun, no wind, and the river's water level was slowly shriveling up like a dying worm. When it was this hot, even a child's active mind became dull in the sweaty, humid heat. Cecilia rolled out of bed with a sleepy groan, which sounded like a tiny squeak. With a serious case of bed head, she walked right out of bed and turned towards the stairs.

"Daddy? It's so hot…" She commented, peeking down to make sure no one else was in the library. It was too early for Tori to come to work, she guessed, because the blonde wasn't in sight. She slowly grasped what time it was when she glanced out the open window, which might as well have been closed. It would've been just as hot and icky anyways.

"I know, Ceci. Come on down, I have a cold glass of water for you." Russell looked up from his desk, glasses sliding down his nose.

"I was kinda sorta hoping for ice cream." Cecilia giggled, trying to act extra cute for her father's approval.

"Yeah...uh, no." He sternly replied, grabbing a cold glass of ice water and handing it to her. She nearly dropped it in surprise at how cold it was, and rushed up the stairs as quickly as possible to save her now freezing hands.

"We have some bread and butter left over from before…and I have some eggs that can be reheated. They're waiting for you in the microwave." Russell called, without receiving any form of acknowledgement. She slowly responded with a cough, downing her drink way too fast. "Thanks, Daddy!" Russell smiled, imagining the bright, cute face she was wearing.

There was a hesitant knock on the door and Russell perked up, staring expectantly at the door. It opened slowly, with a head of blonde hair peeking inside before fully entering. "H-hello…Russell." Tori gave a gentle bow in his direction, and he held his hand up in protest.

"Please don't be so formal with me, Tori. It's alright." He knew it was a habit that would take a while to stop, but there had been some progress. Instead of deep bows, they have gotten shorter and shorter.

"I-I'm sorry…it's just that…you're my boss." She shyly spoke; her voice was naturally soft and gentle, but in a place as quiet as a library, she sounded quite normal.

"Is Tori here?" Ceci heard her loud and clear from upstairs, and shot down the stairs with bread still in her mouth. Knowing it was rude to talk with her mouth full, she chomped it down in a hurry as she embraced the librarian.

"I missed you Tori!" She beamed up at the librarian, who was used to this burst of affection. The tall woman bent down to pat down Ceci's untamed, wild hair.

"Do you need help…with your hair again?" She asked, unable to resist smiling back at Cecilia. Though humans and elves had their differences, she would've never been able to guess with Ceci's personality. She always forgot that the young girl was a half-elf, except when she was as close to her as she was right now.

"Hee-hee…I thought it looked fine. And Nicholas never brushes his hair." She pointed out, prepared to march straight out of the door.

"Ceci, at least look presentable outside. And Nicholas is a _boy_, not a pretty lady like yourself." Russell always tried to convince her to avoid following Nicholas's silly, prankster ways. Ceci was always too absorbed with her friend to ever listen to her father though.

"You do have…such pretty hair. I'll put it in a ponytail…to cool you down." Tori added, catching Cecilia's interest.

"Oh, that's different. Can I have the red ribbon in it this time?" She asked, grabbing Tori by the hand and leading her upstairs. Russell sighed, exchanging a knowing look that just meant one thing…_Kids._ Had to love them.

"Hey, Ceci!" Another new voice entered into the room, muffled through the heavy oak door. Russell looked up from his book, a fascinating find that came straight from the city, going into explicit detail on the wonders of The Forest of Beginnings. He was starting to get tired from all of these interruptions, and in this heat, he wasn't exactly the most patient person around.

But he could try to be.

"It's open, Nic." Russell massaged his forehead, building up wrinkles and smoothing his skin out. It was something his mother used to do to him as a child to calm him down, and it had always worked. An unkempt, Zavier-influenced child entered the room with a bright smile. From upstairs, there was a 'thump' at the sound of Nicholas's voice, and Russell could imagine Ceci's excitement.

"Ceci is still getting ready for the day. She'll be down soon." He explained, straining to put on a friendly smile. Not that he disliked the boy; it was just the influence he brought over Ceci that bothered him. That blind trust she had in him just because he was older, while sometimes neglecting her father's advice…well, it bothered him.

"Oh, ok." Nicholas walked near the bookshelves, pretending to be interested in them even though everyone in the library knew that he couldn't read. He was always a bit envious of Ceci, who was already learning how to write (though Russell claims that her spelling needs some work).

When Tori was finally done taming Ceci's beast of a head, she flew down the staircase with a mighty leap. Tori hesitantly followed behind her, not saying anything to correct the young girl's behavior. She was always a little bit show-offy in front of Nicholas, so scolding wouldn't do any good.

"Nicholas! I'm glad you came. I really want to go swimming." She exclaimed, grasping Nicholas by the hands. He blushed at the contact, but held the same childish excitement that she had.

"Mom says we can't go swimming alone, and she's busy…but I've got a better idea! I found this really cool place." He giggled with excitement, more than eager to impress his best friend.

"Cool place? Nicholas, the last time you said that to me, you took me to Neumann's house." Ceci folded her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"No, this time it's way cool! Literally! Out of the sun, lots of fun." He elbowed Ceci playfully, trying to encourage her to go with him.

"So just where is this 'really cool place'?" Russell asked with a sly smile, leaning forward in his desk. Nicholas flinched; forgetting that they weren't alone.

"Uh…it's…Raguna's barn." He looked around nervously, twiddling his fingers.

"Raguna's barn? How is that 'cool'?" Ceci asked, more curious than anything.

"Uhh…he's got a fish…that makes snow cones! Really cool!" He waved his arms around, as if it was helping him prove his point. There was an uneasy silence, and both Russell and Tori had unconvinced faces.

"Make sure you ask Raguna before you go in there, alright?" Russell leaned back in his desk, apparently approving of their plans for the day.

"Right." Both of the kids chimed, and soon they were replaced by clouds of dust.

"I wonder…where they're really going?" Tori looked at Russell, not sure if she should be concerned for their well being. Ceci _has _been caught in one of those monster filled caves before.

"If you don't mind watching the library for a bit, I'll go ask around." Russell replied, checking the clock on the wall to see what time it was. _'9:30, huh? I'll start looking in an hour then. Just in case.'_ He thought, returning his thoughts to a rather intriguing book.


	2. A World of Their Own

_Notes: Didn't get the reference? It was from The Lion King. And this is the final chapter for the contest, with Blind as the theme. Enjoy the sappyness!_

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A World of Their Own

"Nicholas, I thought we were going to get snow cones." Cecilia spoke after a long run filled with giggles and pants, nearly collapsing to the ground. Nicholas grinned as he plopped right down into the shade, sitting in front of the shrubbery in front of Leo's place.

"I lied. Your dad would never let us go if he knew where we were really going." He winked at her to arouse her curiosity, earning him a giddy feeling as she gave him what he wanted. Her look was demanding now, and she crawled right next to him with a playful glare, struggling to hide the curls in her lips.

"Where. Are. We. Going." She stated, prepared to unleash her tickle wrath upon him if he didn't give her a direct answer.

"It's a surprise! But I'll give you a clue, it's by my house." He chuckled at her reaction; ears twitching downward like a sad puppy, and she had this habit of biting her lips when she wanted to say something.

"Well, I'm not tired anymore. Come on, slowpoke." Cecilia tugged at his arm, pulling him upright so he could lead her there. Nicholas had another thing in mind and allowed his body weight to shift as she pulled him, making her fall back down on the ground with him.

"Hahaha, hey!" She pushed him away from her, unable to control her laughter as she was greeted with a face planted in the ground. "You deserved that." She snickered, getting up and rethinking that clue he gave her. If it was near Nicholas's house, then she'd be able to just walk there and wait for him, right?

"Ow, I didn't think I'd actually fall." Nicholas rubbed his sore nose, which throbbed only a little bit, and looked around. Where was Ceci? _'Hey! I'm supposed to take her there! Not cool!'_ He complained, running down the rest of the street with a good idea of where she was headed.

"Ceci…pantpant…why didn't you tell me we were playing…hide n' seek?" Nicholas saw her at the staircase leaning against it with a giggle. He wanted to collapse all over again, but he remembered what Zavier had told him the day before. _If he wanted to impress Ceci, he had to act tough. _So that run hadn't been hard at all. Right? Right. He groaned as she laughed at him even harder. Not right.

"Ok, so nothing is different. I just see your house, a dock, water, and lots of sand." She turned around to face the ocean, hands resting gently against the marble wall.

"That's where you're wrong, Ceci. How many times have I told you? You need to be curiouser." He scolded, pointing a firm finger at her. She blinked in confusion, before apologizing.

"Sorry Nic, I tried. So…what am I missing?" She frowned, taking another look at the scenery to make sure that nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Come on, I'll show you!" With his energy jumping back and forth like one of Rosetta's mood swings, he bounded down the steps in a mad dash. He left a trail of footprints in the sand for Cecilia to follow, with her dainty careful steps trying to match his own in the sand.

He stopped in front of the giant seashell, trying his best to hide the ecstatic smile that wanted to rip through his lips. Cecilia paused, finding it impossible to look at what he was hiding behind him. She saw the shell that easily towered over him, yes, but she sensed that he was blocking her from something.

"So?" She asked, unable to guess what he was trying to show her.

"So look for yourself." He chuckled, stepping to the side to reveal a giant hole underneath the sea shell. Cecilia gasped and moved towards it, never even seeing something like this before. From what she could see inside, it was pitch black. Her eyes wouldn't adjust to the darkness like it did in the caves, but from what the sun showed at the entrance, the walls had a beautiful, pearly shimmer.

"I haven't been inside yet, I wanted to go in with you." He explained, equally curious about the inside of the shell.

"Oh Nic! What if the rumors are true? We can go to another world! That would be so awesome." She cried, and once she saw he agreed with her she started crawling inside of the shell.

"Uh…hey Ceci! I can't see a thing." He grunted, crawling down on all fours. The sand didn't burn him in here like it would've outside, which was a pleasant surprise. He gulped as he went deeper into the shell, faintly hearing Ceci's movements.

"Ceci?" Nicholas looked around nervously, but the darkness was suffocating him. His eyes hurt in this darkness, and the silence was deafening. He was starting to regret coming here…

"BOO!" Something pounced on him from behind, and he screamed with his voice bouncing off of the walls like crazy monkeys. The echo surrounded the two kids and slowly escaped from the shell, becoming one with the wind.

"Whoa…my ears are ringing." Cecilia teased, wishing that she could've seen his panicked face. She could already imagine the pout on Nicholas's face because a girl scared him.

"H-hey, I was just testing out the echo in here."

"Uh-huh…sure." Cecilia giggled, leaning against Nicholas's shoulder as she tried to look around. It was pretty boring when you couldn't see anything.

"Hey Nic, I got an idea. Watch this!" She started to chant in some kind of ancient language, staring intently at where her right hand was supposed to be, trying to gather some kind of energy into it.

"It's so dark in here…I can't what you're doing." Nicholas replied with a disappointed sigh, but Ceci kept on with her mysterious chant. Finally, the faintest spark of light appeared in her hand, illuminating their surprised faces and the beauty of the shell. Nicholas saw crystals, as big as Neumann's arms sticking out of the ceiling. The walls were covered in sparkly swirls of gold, and he heard the strangest sound. Was that…the ocean?

"Whoa, I didn't think I could actually do it. But didja see it, Nic? Didja?" She turned to him in excitement, more focused on the magic she used instead of the scenery around them. It was a shame, he thought, because Ceci loved sparkly things like this.

"Yeah…I did." He was still in utter awe at the beautiful inside of the seashell, that he didn't notice Cecilia crawl away from him. How he wished that he could see what the shell really looked like, whenever he wanted.

"Cecilia! Nicholas! Where are you?" Russell's called from the beach, and Nicholas was forced out of his daze. Nothing could bring you back to reality faster than "The Man", huh?

"Oh, I guess we're busted." Ceci peeked out of the shell, debating whether she should leave or stick around with Nicholas. She didn't want to get in trouble, but she wanted to play some more. _'Goodness, it's so hard being a kid.' _She sighed, turning to see Nicholas smiling at her from the entrance of the shell.

"Guess we were in there for a while, huh?" He crawled out of the shell, dusting the sand off of him and started stretching his sore back. Hunching down for a long period of time could even hurt a kid, apparently.

"Hehe, yeah. We should go in there again someday. I want to practice my magic more and more." She emerged beside him, burning her hands against the hot sand as she got out. She yelped, getting up with a dizzy stumble while leaning against Nicholas's small frame.

She started to head towards Russell, but Nicholas grabbed her arm before her father could even spot her. "And Ceci?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell anyone, ok? This is our secret. Promise?"

"I promise." She replied, giving him a quick embrace before running off to tackle her surprised father from behind. It was all kind of sappy, but Nicholas found himself enjoying it. The shell really does take people to another world.


End file.
